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Assessment hearing to wait until March, Marshall Council says

MARSHALL — A proposed street assessment for construction on Michigan Road and Superior Road has been delayed, but now there’s a clearer timeline for when the Marshall City Council will come back to the issue.

On Tuesday night, the council re-opened a public hearing on the assessments, just so it could discuss when to continue the hearing. Earlier this month, the hearing had been put on hold when the council voted to delay certifying the assessment, and to appraise the project.

Marshall City Attorney Dennis Simpson said the council needed to continue the hearing to a specific date.

“I recommend we continue it into March next year,” Simpson said. He put forward the date of March 26, 2019.

Street and utility construction on Michigan and Superior started this summer. Property owners in Marshall’s industrial park were being assessed for about $552,000 out of a total project cost of around $1.25 million. However, there were only six properties being assessed, and the city received appeals from some of them.

City staff had proposed changing assessment procedures for commercial and industrial properties, so they could have a maximum assessment amount. Currently, the city has a maximum assessment amount of $5,500 for residential properties. A maximum assessment for commercial or industrial properties could take into account factors like lot size, wider street width and greater strength, city staff said.

Another option, said Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson, would be to do a preliminary appraisal on the Michigan and Superior Road project. That was the option the council took.

The appraisal hasn’t been done yet, Hanson said Tuesday night. Between now and March, city staff will work on the appraisal, and work with the council ways and means committee to possibly update the city policies on commercial and industrial assessments.

Council members voted to continue the assessment hearing to March 26.

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